Electrical devices, such as inverters, consist of multiple of different electrical components. The components, and thus the electrical device itself, generate heat in a known manner when the device is operated. Some of the electrical components can withstand higher temperatures without affecting the lifetime of the component while other components wear faster when operated in elevated temperature. For example control electronics of a device age more rapidly when the temperature is increased, while passive inductive components can be operated in higher temperatures without affecting the lifetime of the components.
It is known to place the components in different compartments based on the tolerance of temperature and heat generation. For example, in inverter devices, it is known to place the control electronics and the high loss components in different compartments of the device so as to limit the impact of the high loss, high temperature component on the temperature of the control electronics. These separate compartments are typically stacked vertically and placed in a common housing surrounding the compartments. Further, for limiting the effect of the high loss high temperature components on the other components, the compartment with the higher temperature components is typically air cooled with a blower or similar device.
One of the disadvantages associated with the above arrangement is that when the device is made more compact, the temperatures are rising to a level that is harmful for the components that do now withstand elevated temperatures. Further, high IP-class protection with sufficient cooling cannot be achieved with the stacked structure in a simple manner.